My Wintry Morning

This is what I woke up to. Kind of beautiful...unless you have no soul (in which case I wonder why you bother visiting a vegan website in the first place). Really. Why would you even bother?

This is the first snow of the year and I'm totally giddy for it. By February, I'll be over it, but for now, I just want to enjoy it.

Anyway, cold, snowy mornings always make me hungry for a hot breakfast. So, I remedied that situation by making this:

Chelsea waffles from Vegan Brunch (altered, of course) and some oniony, mushroomy, cheesy hashbrowns.

You can tell that I love my hashbrowns. I could eat them pretty much every single day without complaint. The Chelsea waffles from Vegan Brunch were altered because I didn't have all the ingredients in the recipe. It calls for barley malt syrup, which is ridiculously expensive around here, so I subbed in maple syrup. It also calls for canola oil, but I used coconut instead. Ever since I first tried these waffles, they have been my favorite. I've probably made them 15 or more times. I usually make a full batch so I can freeze the rest for quick breakfasts later on. They're awesome popped in the toaster and topped with a good slather of Earth Balance. Mmmm, dudes. I know I always talk about Vegan Brunch, but for real, YOU NEED THIS COOKBOOK. Best cookbook purchase I've ever made.

Here's the rest of my lovely snow photos from this morning.

Heavenly Tempeh Wrap

 

This is my 200th post here on this blog. Crazy. I always thought I would do something special for my 200th, but I completely forgot. Silly chickpea. So, anyway, I had a massive craving for tempeh that just wouldn't quit. I had some super tasty spinach tortillas and some ideas rolling around in my brain. Alas, this spicy and tangy tempeh wrap was born.

The wrap is crazy easy to make. It really takes almost no effort. You should totally make some. The sauce will seem pretty tangy on its own, but once you cook it with the tempeh and add your toppings, it'll go together surprisingly well. I know, the sauce sounds odd. Just try it. Now, I'm getting back to reading a book on my day off, so go make some food, dudes! Go forth and cook.

Makes 2 large wraps.

What you need:

• 1 block tempeh, sliced into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 TB garlic chili pepper sauce (I used A Taste of Thai brand) You could sub sriracha maybe.
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 2 large spinach wraps
• toppings of your choice- I used Vegenaise, shredded carrot, red onion, romaine and a handful of baby spinach

What you do:

1. Whisk together the ketchup, soy sauce and chili sauce in a bowl. Plop your tempeh in after the sauce is all mixed up. Then go ahead and let it all marinate for a few. I maybe left mine about 20 minutes. Ideally, I'd marinate it longer, but this worked just fine. 
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut oil. Once hot, add the sauced-up tempeh. Cook about 4 minutes on each side, until browned. You can spoon more of the leftover sauce on the tempeh while it is still cooking. I did. 
3. Now fill your wrap however you want and tuck in.

My Pantry Essentials for New Vegans

My most-used food cupboard. Top shelf is pasta and other dry goods (Jiffy mix and Stovetop are not vegan, but I live with a non-veg fella). Middle shelf is egg replacer, VWG, dried legumes, oats, nooch and peanut butter. Bottom is dried fruit, lots of nuts, teas and some snacks.

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now because I have had several people ask me how to get started cooking after spending years survivng on boxed food and take-out. When I first started to cook (about 2 years ago), I didn't know what I needed to keep in my pantry. It felt like every recipe I tried required tons of ingredients, but that was just because I didn't have well-stocked pantry. Over the months, and now years, I have learned what I will always use and try hard to keep it stocked. It includes and assortment of baking goods, spices, condiments, dried goods and even a few cans and frozen goods. I hope this helps those of you just starting out. Don't be discouraged, after you get the pantry stocked, cooking gets loads cheaper because you'll already have lots of stuff ready to use. But, it does take $$ and patience when you get started. Good luck! And please feel free to contact me if you need any help or ideas.

Things you'll always find in my freezer:

• peas - add to curries, soups, even salads
• corn
• hashbrowns & tater tots - perfect for quick breakfasts and lunches
• shelled edamame - add to soups, salads and stir-fries
• Daiya - I like to always have some on-hand and it keeps longer in the freezer
• tempeh - perfect for pretty much any meal
• Gardein crispy chikn strips - nom nom nom

Spices I can't live without:

• garlic powder and garlic salt
• onion powder
• chili powder
• coriander
• cumin
• curry powder
• black pepper
• kosher and sea salts

 Foods in my Cupboards at all times:

• dried legumes and lentils
• brown rice
• nuts -almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, and walnuts
• pasta -spaghetti, penne and shells
• canned beans - chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans save time in a rush
• tomato sauce and crushed/diced tomatoes for making my own pizza/pasta sauces and chili
• Nooch (nutritional yeast) - I add it to tons of dishes for cheezy flavor and for the B-12.
• peanut butter
• Bisquick (yup, it's vegan)
• coconut oil or any cooking oil, like olive oil. Coconut oil can be pricey if you don't hunt for bargains.
• sesame oil
• TVP/TSP - textured veggie/soy protein makes a great ground beef texture when cooked

In my fridge all the time:

• soy sauce and Braggs aminos
• mushrooms
• Veggies: carrots, lettuce, red onion. potatoes, fresh heads of garlic, spinach, broccoli
• ground flax - add it to all sorts of stuff, even smoothies, make flax eggs.
• dressings, especially vinaigrettes
• salsa
• maple syrup for anything from baking, breakfast, to tempeh bacon
• yellow and dijon mustards
• Vegenaise (Best vegan mayo brand ever). Find it in your grocer's cooler.
• Earth Balance vegan buttah

Baking goods:

• unbleached all-purpose flour
• sugar (find sugar made from sugar beets as they don't use bone char to bleach the sugar)
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• vegan chocolate chips - I always use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips which are accidentally vegan
• cocoa powder
• vegetable shortening
• vanilla extract
• powdered sugar

I hope this helps out :)

Lentil Loaf Heaven

I have been obsessed with using lentils these last few days. I made the lentil tacos, lentil nachos and the lentil shepherd's pie. I'm digging the lentils hardcore, dudes. They taste rad, especially when cooked with vegetable broth with some spices. Well, I've been looking for a lentil loaf recipe for about a week because when I re-organized my cupboards, I found 2 bags of lentils I had forgotten all about. Why lentil loaf? Why the hell not? I always hated meatloaf as a kid, so I have no idea why I became obsessed with making a vegan version.

Whatever, though. This stuff was fucking perfect. I will admit, though, that I was completely skeptical as I don't really love tofu. There, I said it. I don't love tofu. I like it in scrambles, and that's about it. But, I'm certain that I will never make lentil loaf again without it. It keeps it moist and helps it hold it's loafy shape.

Here's the original inspiration recipe. I did make kind of a lot of changes. But, without this recipe, I would have ended up with a dry, crumbly mess. So, I do recommend it. I just needed more spices and sauce.

So, here are the changes I made to the recipe.

• Instead of making that tomato sauce, I used ketchup and bbq sauce topped with some salt and pepper.
• I used just green bell pepper, not red.
• Instead of the 1 TB tomato mixture, I added about 2 TB ketchup and 2 TB bbq sauce into the loaf.
• I left out the balsamic vinegar, sugar, thyme (I don't like thyme) and corn meal.
• Used 1 TB coconut oil to cook the veggies in, then 2 tsp olive oil in the loaf.
• Cooked my lentils in veggie broth with some cumin and all-purpose seasoning.
• Used Braggs aminos instead of soy sauce.
• Upped the spices to:
• 1/2-3/4 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• 1 TB dried parsley
• 1/4-1/2 tsp garlic salt
• Added these spices:
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 tsp Simply Organic all-purpose seasoning
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
• pepper
• I followed the directions as-is, except that I ran my drained tofu through my processor instead of mashing it by hand. 
• I didn't measure the bbq sauce and ketchup that I brushed on the outside. I'm guessing 2 TB bbq, and 3-4 TB ketchup.

Here are the photos of the progress:

Freshly formed loaf. About 2 inches high and 4 wide.

Loafy McLoaf smothered in bbq and ketchup before being baked.

Fresh from the oven. Much loafy love.

So perfect with some butter mashed Yukons and a little ketchup for dipping. 

You should totally make this! Don't let my alterations dissuade you. It's soooo easy and the baking time is only 30 minutes. Just do it!!

Spicy Lentil Tacos

 
Hark! I have discovered my very favorite tacos of all time! The lentil taco. So much awesomeness. Plus, any leftover lentils make some crazy-good nachos. Definitely rad. You should make them.

This batch made 6 large tacos and 2 huge servings of nachos.

What you need:

• 1 cup dry lentils
• about 2-2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp all-purpose seasoning (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• about 1 1/2 TB taco seasoning (I use my own blend. Recipe here)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup salsa of your choice
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• salt

What I did:

1. Cook lentils in the broth with the cumin and all-purpose seasoning (if using). I leave my pot covered so that none of the broth evaporates. Mine took about 15-20 minutes, but cooking times vary by how old the lentils are. If they get too dry add more broth or water then cover again and cook until they are tender, but not mush. Once they're tender done, and nearly all the liquid is absorbed, remove the pot from the heat.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook 3 more minutes. Add the lentils, the spices and the salsa. Stir well and taste for seasonings. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Done.

Have leftover lentil taco filling? Make some nachos. These have vegetarian refried beans, vegan sour cream, some Daiya cheddar mixed into the lentils, some diced onion, sliced black olives and tomatoes. Mega yum, dudes. I wish there were more leftovers.